Atlanta: December 2015 is Atlanta’s warmest December on record

December 2015 was unseasonably warm for Atlanta, Georgia.  The temperature fell below freezing only one time, on December 19th when the low temperature was 29ºF. The day prior, on December 18th, the low was only 32ºF.

In 2015, the average temperature (combined high and low) was 57.5ºF, which breaks the record previously set 126 years ago, in 1889.  Records for Atlanta date back 137 years (as of the date of this post) to 1898.

The “normal” high temperature in December ranges from 58ºF on the 1st to 52ºF at the end of the month.   The “normal” low temperature for Atlanta in December ranges from 40ºF on the 1st to 34ºF at the end of the month.

Record highs were broken on December 24, 25, and 26.  The warmest temperature of the month was 77º on December 26th, and Atlanta had its warmest Christmas since records began 137 years ago.

2015 was Atlanta’s third wettest year on record

Most people remember 2009 and the horrible flooding in September of that year; 2009 was the 2nd wettest on record for Atlanta. 2015 closed out just 1.05 inches below 2009 making last year the third wettest on record for Atlanta. Records date back 137 years to 1878.

Note: Normals are determined using the average temperatures (smoothed) during a 30-year period (currently 1981-2010).

This table shows the distribution of high and low temperatures during the month of December 2015 at Atlanta, Georgia.